Passenger Operators

As well as helping to clarify new franchises’ outputs, we provide information on current operations to enable short-listed prospective franchise operators to develop their bids, and we contribute to the DfT’s bid evaluation.

Franchises let in 2006

Thameslink and Great Northern were combined to form First Capital Connect.
First Great Western Link and Wessex were merged into First Great Western.
Southeastern, which in 2009 is expected to incorporate new high-speed domestic services using the Channel Tunnel Rail Link into St Pancras.

Franchises to be let or re-let in 2007

Two new franchises – East Midlands and West Midlands – are to be created in the autumn of 2007. These will be formed principally from the disaggregated and remapped services from Midland Mainline, Silverlink County and Central Trains. The latter will cease to exist as a train operating company. At the same time, responsibility for the Metro element of the current Silverlink franchise will transfer from the DfT to Transport for London (TfL), which plans to let the new concession renamed as London Rail.

The above table shows existing franchises and how they would look after the changes. These franchises (and the concession for which TfL will be responsible) will be bid for competitively in the usual way and the current franchise holders may or may not win the right to continue operating them after 2007.

See more information on the Department for Transport’s plans for refranchising.

New open access operators

Heathrow Connect, trains started running in 2005
Pre Metro Operations, services began in January 2006